Electronic component sockets in which electronic components are retained by component leads which are inserted into socket terminals wherein said terminals are disposed within the socket body are well known for use with printed circuit boards. The component socket typically has a plurality of terminals fixed in a predetermined configuration within the socket body, each terminal having a downwardly extending lead portion for insertion into a plated opening in the printed circuit board on which the socket is mounted. Most commonly, the terminal configuration of the socket is of a standard pattern to match the lead pattern of cooperative components which are mated with the socket, such as a dual in-line package having parallel rows of equispaced leads. The leads of the component socket generally extend through the plated openings of a circuit board where the leads are soldered to the circuit board to make their respective electrical connections. In such a configuration, any tilt of the socket in relation to the board or any other non-planarity of the mounting surface does not usually affect the mounting of the socket or the integrity of the electrical connections between the leads and the circuit board.
It has become increasingly common to employ surface mount component sockets having lead portions which are butted against contact areas on a circuit board rather than leads which extend through plated holes in a circuit board. As a result of having surface mount component sockets, the planarity of the circuit board mounting surface in relation to the surface mount leads of a component socket becomes more critical: a non-planar mounting surface, or a surface tilted or vibrated with respect to the plane of the mounting ends of the surface mount terminal leads, can result in particular leads having poor contact with circuit board contact areas, or having no electrical contact at all. It is, therefore, important that a surface mountable socket have surface mount leads which can form a reliable contact with a circuit board despite the presence of misalignments or vibration between the board surface and the component.